Friday, December 21, 2007

A good friend of ours, and fellow blogger, tagged us to share six random things. April posted some great items on her blog and then tagged us. Therefore we feel it would only be fair to the rules of tag, to answer such questions.

Six Random Things:

1. I Collect Antique Hall China Teapots. My mother about 20 years ago started collecting Hall China Teapots, as a kid I would purchase teapots for her as gifts and eventually I started collecting them myself.

2. I played the guitar in front of Wal-Mart for money. When I was at Dixie, I was broke. So I played the guitar in front of Wal-Mart. I made nearly $10 an hour, so I would often ask girls out and then go play to have enough money to go on the date. I eventually got arrested and was banded from Wal-Mart for life.

3. I have never lost at the game of Scene It - Movie Edition. I have just seen too many movies. I quote them 24/7.

4. I send and receive over 100 emails everyday. I am a Sales Manager and my sales teams all report to me via email and I reply to almost every email. This is nearly 40 to 50 emails from them and about 40 to 50 replies. My record is 242 in one day.

5. I use to paint my toe nails. I had mostly girl friends not guy friends most of my life. So I would often have girls try and do my make up or my nails. Eventually I got good at it. Also I was in theater in college so I learned how to do that too. When I met Delena, my wife, I had silver metallic painted toenails, and I had purple toenails when I met her parents. I always wore sandals in those days.

___ UPDATED Missing One ____

6. I ran the #1 Beatles Fan Website on the Net from 1993-1998. This was ranked the top on the net! I knew everything about the Beatles and loved them. I closed the site when I went on my mission and never picked it back up. There are still people out their who have links to it, but it no longer exists.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

We took Joseph to see Santa the other day. He really did a great job, but he had just woken up from a nap so I am not sure if he knew what was happening. He kind of had a puzzled look on his face like, "Who is this guy?" The lady there took a great picture of him smiling but we haven't got it back yet. In the mean time, here is one I took with my phone.

In addition we took our Christmas card pictures but Joseph had to see the camera; so I quickly snapped a picture while he was going for the camera.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

About 3 years ago, my grandfather moved out of his house. This was my mom's childhood home. It was tough to see him move out and into a living facility. When we went to his home to help him move, most of his possessions were divided among the family and grandchildren. My grandfather called me personally and asked if I would like his Christmas tree and decorations. For as long as I can remember, my grandfather had a very large beautiful, artificial Christmas tree. As a kid we would go and spend Christmas at his house and I remember thinking it was so big.

Since receiving the tree, Delena and I have put this tree up every year and used my grandmothers decorations to decorate it. It has been nice, in fact our first Christmas we had our first fight over how to put the lights up. It has been a good tree and we hope to continue using it.

On our drive home from Thanksgiving, I mentioned to Delena it would be nice to get a real tree this year. She was very excited. So tonight the Markland family ventured into the cold and picked up a Christmas tree. We used some of my grandmother's old decorations but we have since gathered decorations of our own over the years and were able to add to it. Joseph had a blast pulling the lights off the tree and playing with the needles.

Delena and I have long since learned from our first fight. This time, a we put up the lights, I stood their feeding them to Delena and she put them up. She is better at it anyways. The star on top is the original from my grandfather's tree. We hope to gather more decorations through out the year and our lifetime. It is amazing how much a tree brings the family together.

The tree is now up and the smell is great in the house. I know there is a ton of clean up to deal with and we have to water the dang thing. My hands are covered in sap from trimming the bottom. With it now up, I can't help but look at it enjoy the lights and all the memories it holds and will hold as our family grows.

When I was a kid, my favorite time wasn't just Christmas, but instead the feeling we felt in the air. I remember walking down the streets with my friends, Christmas lights bounced off of the snow and the wet streets. We had fun in those days and lived life as with no cares. Having this tree and it smells, with my family, reminds me of those feelings.

But don't count on me putting Christmas lights on our house, at least not yet.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Last night I was sitting in class and for no reason; I decided to leave class early. I got about 5 minutes away when my phone rang. It was Delena and she was screaming and crying. My first instinct was that she had gotten in an accident. I could hear Joseph screaming in the background and I knew something was wrong. Delena was so upset I could hardly make out what she was saying. Through all the commotion I deciphered that the baby had fallen down the stairs and was potentially hurt. I told Delena to go straight to the emergency room and I was already on my way.

Moments later I arrived at the hospital to find Joseph and Delena waiting to see the doctor. Joseph was laughing and playing, but Delena was really upset. She explained she had taken down the gate to our basement to do some laundry. Joseph was in another room playing. She then went to the bathroom to start Joseph's bath, when she heard him crashing down the stairs. She knew exactly what had happened so she ran to the stairs to find Joseph at the bottom screaming.

The doctor gave him a full check and said he didn't have a bruise on him. In fact he laughed every time the doctor touched his neck or stomach. We felt very lucky he was alright and Joseph is showing no signs of anything. In fact today he was the happiest he has been in all week. I am sure we all go through these moments and it is amazing how resilient our kids are. We have learned our lesson about the gate and how fast this kid can move.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Delena took Joseph to on his first swing set ride. She took this great video and a few pictures of Joseph on the swing set. The video is awesome, you can tell he is not quite sure what is going on but then when the swing goes faster he keeps laughing.

Monday, November 05, 2007

A few hours ago Joseph woke up from a deep sleep screaming and kicking his arms and legs like no other. When you held him he was stiff and we could tell very quickly that he was still asleep but screaming louder than ever. This went on for about 5 minutes before he all of sudden woke up! He was fine and stopped crying. We spent the next hour playing with him and he finally went to sleep.

Our first thought was he was in pain, teething, or even semi-choking (heck I even checked to make sure there was nothing in his throat). We even thought may be he was having some sort of seizure.

In the end we concluded he was having some sort of nightmare, in my Google searching I found this article:

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Jump back nearly five years ago. I invited a girl, whom I had spoken to only twice, to party and BBQ that I was throwing for new students at Dixie State College. The featured entertainment--Colors.

Colorsis an amazing Utah based band that has some amazing music. We had a great time and we sang all the good songs with Colors. Later that evening Colors, this girl I invited, and myself all went caving in St. George. I had many great experiences at Dixie and with Colors. I was sad to hear they stopped recording and I have always wished I could go to one more concert.

The girl I invited later become my wife and our song become "The Reggae Song" by Colors. So when we heard that Colors was having a reunion concert, we were so excited! The minute I heard about the concert I bought tickets. I mean that minute!

The show was amazing. The fans were amazing, everyone was singing their songs and the band was as awesome as we remembered. The came out in the usual style and dress, they sang the greats, including our song. On more than one occasion Delena and I got emotional singing their songs. Colors themselves said they felt the emotion. When the played our song we tried to rush the stage but were stopped by some big Tongans. It really was an amazing night.

After the show we were able to talk to Brian, Ryan, and Russ and they remembered our adventures at Dixie. It is amazing how things have changed, but yet stay the same. Delena and I have been to a lot of concerts, but that was the best one. It brought back so many memories and we can't believe how far we have come.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Delena took Joseph to the store today and let him ride in the cart for the first time. Since Joseph sits up on his own; she was sure it wouldn't be a problem.

Instead it was a big problem--he had too much fun!

He was alert, excited, and laughed at everyone who walked by. His arms swung up and down with excitement and joy. One lady was getting really upset at the self checkout station and started to laugh instead, all because Joseph was so happy.

Check out this cute kid!

What more could you want from a happy baby boy, looks like he is even guarding the canned fruit that Delena put next to him. As he continues to grow and do new things we find ourselves falling in love with him all over again. I was sad a missed this great adventure.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Delena and I have discussed this a little the past few weeks. Once you become a parent, a whole new world of topics and conversations enter your life. At least once a week someone makes a comment in my direction that if I don't have my baby watching "Baby Einstein" videos, I am a bad parent. As parents we are under constant pressure to make sure our children are the best and the smartest. How will I raise my children so they will be intelligent? The quick answer is always education videos like--Baby Einsteins.

Tonight on the NBC Nightly news they had a report on Educational Videos for babies. I found another article on MSNBC Newsweek and was blown away. Children under two years of age that watch at least one hour of videos comprehend six to eight less words than children who don't watch videos. Essentially for ever hour of videos your child watches; he is failing to grasp intelligence. The American Pediatric Society has been saying this for nearly 8 years but no one has really put attention to it, until this study. Bottom line, education videos have the reverse affect on your children. Human interaction is the best way to educate and grow your child's mind.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Can you believe it? Joseph has found his first love. Apparently he didn't even tell us. We had to find out on the internet! What is next, myspace? Are good friends here in our area recently watched our son for a few hours. They have a daughter a few months older than Joseph. They told us they got a long great. But then today I check out their blog and found they were more than friends. I guess it is time for that Birds and the Bees talk (speaking of Bees check out the Maw's post on Carpenter Bees, it will blow your mind!)

Well I have posted a link to their blog on ours. They quickly reminded me that I haven't been good at updating my blog. One thing I have learned about blogging, if you have nothing to say don' force a post. But I have had plenty to say and I have been bad at keeping the world up to date.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Delena has decided she would like to go to work 2 days a week. I think this will be good for her. Our son will do well with some interaction with other people. Today was Delena's first day on his own. We have yet to find a day care (we are on four lists), but my brother and his wife live in West Haven. So they offered to watch him until we can find someone. We took him there today for a few hours. Delena cried the whole way to work. She was so sad, but my sister-in-law, Michelle, was great to text her every hour and let her know how she was doing. I picked him up a few hours later and he was fine. He too had cried, but in the end he did very well.

This a constant conversation we have around our neighborhood. Our religion stresses the roles of a mother in the home. Though it is rare to her a leader say that a mother must be home, period. We our counciled that they shouldn't be forced to work, if they don't need to, especially if it is just to pay for an extravagant life style. Delena has worked hard to build a career, but it isn't just for the career, Delena has truly grown stronger through her work. My job is treating us well, so Delena doesn't need to work, but she has chosen to work 2 to 3 days a week to continue that interaction.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Our baby is now one month old today. We are so excited for what is to come. We just can't believe how fast the first month went by. What will happen with the first year, or even the second. Delena has done an amazing job with him, while I have been at work. I come home and wonder how she does it all. Joe has been a little stuffed up nose. Delena and I took him to the doctor to make sure it wasn't something more serious, but he is doing fine now. Surprisingly sleeping better all the time. On a scary note, we will be putting Joe in his own room and his own crib tonight. He hasn't gotten so big, (he now weighs 11lbs 3oz) we have decided it is time for him to try the crib.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Check this kid out! He looks so good. Grandma and Grandpa Markland got this shirt for him in Cabo San Lucas just before he was born.

Delena and I have had a ton of support the past couple of weeks, but this is our first week on our own. Delena has been amazing! She has done an amazing job with the baby this week. I have been doing my best to support her in everything. But I came down with a cold and was forbidden to hold the baby for two days.

Formula has been a struggle. The baby is eating so much we have to supplement all the time. But the iron is not sitting well. He started throwing up lots of his formula and we got very scared. We called Doc Joe Ben and he coached us through the scare. We have been diluting his formula now and he is doing much much better.

Just when we think we come up with the secret, he changes. It is so crazy. One thing we have discussed is how much we love our baby, but how quickly he can become a chore. I had Delena go for a drive last night because I could see how frustrated and tired she was.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Delena and I have been having this debate. In the hospital they told use to wait at least 1o days. But this article (When can my baby start using a pacifier?) brings up some great points as to when to use the pacifier. I can see how it can become a crutch for crying children.

To be honest this stems to our frustrations on breastfeeding. We are both fans of breastfeeding and supplementing when necessary. But it is tough to get your milk going. It seems the baby at times just wants to use Delena as a pacifier and not eat. But I think we need to be more aggressive in how we feed him.

Do you guys use a pacifier, when did you start giving it to them? When did you take it away?

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Today was such a great day in the life of our amazing baby. Last night he only woke up once! He fed on a regular basis, he stuck right to the schedule. Then when Grandma and Grandpa Markland (Mom and Dad) came up. He was wonderful then too. You know the strange part, having a baby I never thought I would care so much about when and if he pooped. Well he did three times today and I was excited.

Joe Ben is doing so well, today was one of the many good days we will have.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Now this may sound lame to some, but it was scary to us. You see Joe Ben has not been sleeping at all, and we anticipated this; but he really hasn't been sleeping. Yesterday Delena's milk came in and so we figured that would help him to sleep a little more and also poop. You see he hasn't really pooped in two days. As today progressed we constantly became worried that he wasn't doing well. But we kept feeding him all day and nothing we did would help him sleep.

About 3 pm the McKay Dee Hospital called and asked Delena how the baby was doing. We told the lady of our concerns about pooping and sleeping. She asked about our nursing procedures. What procedures? She told us we were not feeding him correctly. He is super hungry! We thought because he was breast feeding all day he was getting tons, turns out he wasn't at all. The nurse told us to do the following:

Breast Feed 10 minutes

Burp

Breast Feed 10 minutes on other side

Burp

Repeat

Then Pump

Since we had just tried to feed him, I quickly grabbed a bottle and fed him some formula. In the process I grabbed a nipple that was the medium flow. As I fed him, the milk came out super fast and so I had to burp him like 10 times. He drank down nearly 2 oz in about 5 minutes. Then crashed! He fell asleep so hard, I got worried I had fed him to fast and he was sick. After another call to the doctor (my dad) we felt better.

He slept nearly 3 hours (this is a first since we came home). When he woke up we did our Breast Feeding routine. It was murder on Delena, but we did it! I still supplemented him about 1 oz but we felt much better about the process.

Again he is a sleep, on his own, in his bassinet. Which he has never once used since we got home because he was hungry.

Delena and I both were so worried and felt guilty we had been starving our baby. Delena took it particularly hard at first, but then after we feed him again we both felt much better.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Today was Joe Ben's first doctors appointment. It was a short checkup after his birth. Since his blood sugar had been low, he wanted a quick check up. We have chosen Dr. Watts and Pediatric Care of Ogden. Joe had lost a few onces but not much and the doctor said that is normal. Once the Delena's milk starts coming (we are feeling it will be today) then he will gain a lot more weight and start pooping. We were so worried we were doing things wrong and the doctor would find things wrong with him. But besides being noisy, he did very well.

Dr. Watts said we are doing everything right and he looks fantastic. He should be back up to his birth rate by next week.

Congrats Joe YOU PASSED!!

Also today was the first day we really got Joseph ready to go out on the town. We were a little nervous about taking him outside, but we survived. I got half way down the road and realized I didn't have his diaper bag. I have got to start remembering that thing.

Monday, February 12, 2007

This really is a two person job. We thought we were on a roll with the sponge bath thing. He was very upset but we were going fast. Then all of the sudden as I am washing his hair. BOOM! He pooped all over me. Well it least we had a bath ready. (If you look close you can see I was lucky to have that towel under him; nevertheless he still got it all over me and the kitchen floor).

As you read this title I am sure you saying I am crazy. But Joe Ben has not pooped all day. About 10 pm he started grunting and crying. We kept with his feeding and that calmed him down but you could see he was in pain. After 3 dry diapers and one wet one we put him down for bed. He slept about an hour and woke for his feeding. Then he slept for an amazing 7 minutes, only to wake again grunting and screaming. Nothing we did would help.

Then finally at 3:15 am he pooped! We couldn't believe it, we had thought he had done it so many times before. But this time Delena was positive.

We checked and sure enough he had! "It was beautiful," Delena said. We couldn't believe it, it was the black green maconium that he had had in the past, it was the real deal!

Now he is eating the best he has all evening (morning) and we can get maybe one hour extra of sleep tonight.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

We are home! What an amazing experience it is bringing home your first child. We don't have the protection of the nurses any more. We are a little scared but we are happy to be home. Joe has yet to wake up and see his new room, but he seems content on being a sleep.

We stayed at the hospital as long as we could. There was just this big fear of stepping into our home and being parents for real! At the hospital they take the baby to nursery when you want or tell you went to feed him. Not at home, we are on our own. Well I know I have all you to help us when needed.McKay Dee was a pleasant surprise, we were dead set on being at Ogden Regional and only went to McKay Dee because we needed to be induced. But our nurses were amazing and everyone treated us so well.

McKay Dee has a discharge class. It is supposed to teach us what to do with our child as we go home. They have rockers for the women and donuts for us to eat. Amy is our teacher and is very friendly.

We just finished a video about car seats, and we will have info about feeding, skin, etc.

(a few minutes later)

So far the class is a little slow, but Amy does a nice job keeping it exciting. This last video we watched called Elijah's Story, was heart wrenching. This father, who had never been known as a violent person or a bad person, shook his 1 year old to death. It was so scary, you need to have a plan to cope with all the stress. Delena and I talked on the way back to the room that we would always make time to talk to each other about our frustrations and be willing to talk to others in the case of emergency.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Good News! We no longer have to check his blood sugar. The doctor says he is doing well. The portable tester wasn't doing well, so we tested him at NICU and he was fine. They also tested his hearing and he has perfect hearing as well.

Grandma Kapp, Aunt Judy, Cousin Kim, Brady and Heather Fuller. Plus all our family. It has been great! The flowers that came from Kim, The Markland's, the Lewis's, The Windley's and many others. Thanks again!

Dr. Watts came in and said his blood sugar is fairly low. So we need to supplement his breast feeding with formula to boost his sugar. I feel so bad he cries so much because they have to prick his feet to check his sugar.

We opted to get this done early. They were going to do some C-sections and had to leave. Delena wasn't in pain yet, but we said, "What the heck, let's do it now." Delena is sooo happy she did. They just checked Delena and found she is dilated to a 5.

We at the hospital as we speak. I thought I would give you all a play by play today. I will be making posts via my cell phone all weekend. So bare with me for they will be short and quick as things happen.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Today Delena called me at 1:30 to tell me she was having contractions. We had been timing them each night to see if she was going into labor, but today she said they were much more intense and they were 10 minutes apart. An hour later she called to say they were even closer, now to about 5 minutes. She could hardly stand because of how intense they were. She called the doctor and she said to come home and get into a warm bath. This would stop or start them. When I got home at 5:30 she was now 3 minutes apart. So what did we do? Went to the hospital.

Well after about an hour they were still intense, but Delena had not dilated any more than the day before. So the doctor sent us home. They gave Delena a morphine shot to ease the pain and stop the contractions. Which it did.

Friday, February 02, 2007

During our last appointment Delena received a little scare. Her blood pressure was a little high and has been feeling sick. The doctor ordered some more test and found that the baby is quickly running our of room; therefore if we don't have it soon we need to be induced. Delena's body is tired of being pregnant and wants to have the baby that is why she is getting sick.

We hope to have it soon but our delivery date isn't until the 16th! Will we make it? Well th doctor as decided that we should go for the 9th as an inducement date. We have our hearts set on Ogden Regional and their GIANT birthing suites, but they are short staffed and we could get bumped a whole week if they are too busy. So we have chosen McKay Dee for the inducement and Ogden Regional if we go into labor.